Tag Archives: Rinne

You’ve probably read many posts about which anime to watch in celebration of Halloween. I missed the boat on that, but Halloween is actually part of a three day observance. An alternate name for Halloween is All Hallows’ Eve, referring to it being the night before All Saints’ Day. Today, after All Saints’ Day, comes All Souls’ Day.

And so, we ought to be thinking about the afterlife over the course of these days. While Halloween’s original purpose in time immemorial may have been for people to prepare for All Saints’ Day, the ghoulish costumes along with the emphasis on horror movies in October brings to mind hell rather than heaven. On November 1st, we think of the blessed in heaven. Today, we think instead of the poor souls who yet await the final cleansing of their souls before they enter the Pearly Gates.

Tadaima! That was a refreshing two months! Though just two months, it feels like a coon’s age since I’ve blogged on Medieval Otaku. At any rate, the transition from critic to fan was achieved over this time. Being a critic is miserable: one watches so much anime that the flaws start standing out more than the good. At the same time, one feels as though one never watches enough, which induces one to watch mediocre anime and be tortured more than ever. A truly vicious cycle!

During the past two months, I have kept up with precisely one current anime: Aho Girl (★★★★). Two have been finished: Eureka 7 and You’re Under Arrest: Full Throttle. Many consider Eureka 7 (★★★★1/2) one of their favorite shows, and quality and uniqueness shine through the entire series. For all that, understanding why I enjoyed it is difficult to pinpoint. Perhaps, if I watched it again, I could take apart more of the ideas–particularly, the comparison of Dewey Novak to Raskolnikov (the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment.)